Saturday, September 17, 2011

Magpies unfazed by the controversy

The build-up was dominated by talk of FC United’s fans boycotting the
match, but on Saturday, Chorley’s players let their football do the
talking.

Following police advice, the Magpies
switched the game to a lunch-time kick-off and FC United decided not to
take up their allocation of tickets as a result.

The lack of their usual vocal and partisan following certainly appeared to affect their team.

With
just six minutes on the clock FC keeper James Spencer received his
first test of the afternoon when Andy Teague found Tom Ice with a superb
30-yard pass, and the diminutive winger fired in a shot, which the
keeper had to tip over his bar.

Simon Whaley then had the next
opportunity, but the aim of this lob was slightly out, as the ball
bounced the wrong side of the upright.

Goalkeeper Russ Saunders,
who has been superb since his arrival from Hyde, showed his class to
keep everything FC could throw at him out.

The Magpies almost took the lead on 38 minutes when Andy Teague and Adam Roscoe both rose at the far post.
Between
them their header was cleared off the line in a goalmouth scramble. A
few minutes later, though, the Magpies weren’t to be denied.

A
good passing moved ended with Roscoe being upended in the box, and Lee
McEvilly made no mistake from the spot to send Spencer the wrong way.

Approaching the interval FC stepped up a gear and hit the woodwork, and had a shot cleared off the line.

Throughout
the game FC United gave away too many unnecessary free-kicks; pulling,
pushing and clipping the Chorley players whenever challenging for the
ball. Just two minutes into the second half they were made to pay for
these indecisions. A free-kick was floated in from just over the
half-way, this time to McEvilly, whose deft header found Andy Russell,
whose equally deft header landed perfectly for Teague to slam the ball
beyond Spencer, and double the lead.

FC United then tested
Saunders with a shot from distance, but the keeper had plenty of time to
set himself and deal with the effort.

McEvilly, who on another
day could have had a hat-trick, wasted an opportunity when put through
on the keeper, as he couldn’t get the ball from under his feet to test
Spencer.

Saunders made a routine save from an overhead attempt, as
the visitors tried to find a way into the game, but the visitors began
to look more ragged as the game progressed. On 77 minutes Steve
Flitcroft was unlucky to receive a straight red card when he challenged
with his foot raised.

McEvilly missed a second one-on-one opportunity, as the Magpies made light work of being a man down.

With 10 minutes remaining FC United’s Jake Cotterell was lucky to stay on the pitch following a lunge on Dale Whitham.

In
the closing stages, with FC United desperately looking for a way back
into the game they began to put some pressure on their hosts, but rather
than scoring goals Ben Deegan saw yellow then red for a crude lung on
Teague.